Paperless logs

I drive a log truck. We fall Ag. regs.

 

swift has just confirmed that in the near future they will start to use paperless logs i was told this last week at orientation

 

I don't care much one way or the other about the logs themselves. What worries me is what the company can do WITH direct and immediate access to your log. Ex Werner driver told me that they were constantly updating and changing his routing and appointment times based on when and for how long he stopped,and his dispatcher would call and rag on him if he stopped more than a half hour short of his 11.

Sorry. It's my bus, and I drive it my way. If I wanna stop, I'm gonna stop. I'm not gonna drive 11 if I'm gassed at 7. Fortunately, my company is generally pretty good about giving you plenty of time to get from point A to point B, and they don't argue with you when you say you can't do it legally in a given time frame. They just ask for your ETA and go from there.
Even if you revise your ETA in mid-drive, they're ok with that (though,I imagine that if you do that a lot, they'll have something to say)

 

I am a brand new Swift driver. I think brand new drivers are the reason for accidents. It just takes some time to learn how to control the BIG TRUCKS

 

You are suppose to learn how to control the big truck while you are doing the yard manuvers.
You will learn more while on the street for the driving portion.

The way that I think if you can not do all of the manuvers that are required to pass the test to get the cdl then they should not put anyone out on the road until you have those manuvers down.

I agree that yes some of the wrecks can be student related but what about the drivers that say oh I have been driving for x number of years they have wrecks too because they get lazy thinking they do not have to keep checking their mirrors.
I had a swift almost take off my trainers hood on day while at a truckstop out in cali.
Then that night one of the coworkers truck had his hood damaged, head light taken off, tire blew and god knows what else was wrong with his truck all from a swift driver that had been there for a while.

All I can say is

Swing
Wide
It's a
F*****g
Trailer

And look in your mirrors incase you get too close to another truck then you hit the pedal in the middle it is a brake it will stop you from hitting that other truck

 

I think these paperless logs hurt the drivers more than anyone knows. These truck stops fill up quick and early now. Who hasn't had to fudge a little because they got into a truck stop and it was completely full. Or got caught in that wonderfull LA or Chicago traffic with nowhere to go. Now, the company and DOT will say plan ahead better. So then you have to plan on only running 8 hours a day from 9-5. Yeah right.

 

They told us that 2yrs ago, and still haven't fully implemented it yet. How every just before I left and went local, they were doing a trial, and from what I have heard it wasn't going to well..The computer was still logging people on duty when in fact they were off duty, and this cost some their jobs go figure..

 

There are already some terminals that use it.

 

I've been with Prime about 3 months now and have been on paperless logs for about 2 weeks. Prime seems like a decent company and my dispatcher seems like a nice guy. Overall, a big upgrade from CRST.

With that said though, I have to say I'm not enjoying paperless logs much. The two things that are causing the most trouble are dispatch giving me loads that can not be done legally, and being in constant danger of a HOS violation due to the inflexible nature of the 14 hour rule.

I've had to msg dispatcher on almost every load telling him that it is illegal, he's been with the company nearly a decade so he has to know it's illegal, but I tell him anyway just to cover my tail. He changes appt times or gives the load to a paper log truck. I've had to give up 3 loads in two weeks. I used to make my paper log fit the load schedule as long as it was close, but I just can't do that anymore. Three stops spread over 18hours and 400 miles just doesn't work anymore. Paperless is new to dispatch also, I have no doubt they will start getting better at this.

I never used to log the time I spent looking for a parking space or a trailer washout after a load, but now it's a major daily concern. You have to leave a large buffer for everything since dock times are unpredictable and most shippers/receivers won't let you park on their property to get a 10hr reset, even if they wasted 6 hours of your time. You have to move the truck which restarts your clock.

I can give more examples, but suffice it to say paperless is a pain in the neck. It will get better as dispatchers get used to staying legal, but some things can't be controlled, like whether the only rest area within 50 miles is already full, or the time spent at dock is unusually long.

 

well, it seems to me that the push to go to paperless logs is part of a bigger conspiracy to allow mexican trucks and drivers north of the border. Just imagine all the loads that cant be picked up or delivered on time b/c we all have to run legal. You think there was a driver shortage b4! wait till our gov't disqualifies 25% for having medical problems and the rest of us are forced to drive legal, further limiting our productivity. All of the sudden, we "have" to allow the mexicans up here or our economy will starve!
Fire up the Black Helicopters, boys!!!